House Resolution 138

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING DR. EDRIE GEORGE-ROYALS UPON THE OCCASION OF HER INDUCTION INTO THE MISSISSIPPI NURSING ASSOCIATION HALL OF FAME.

WHEREAS, Dr. Edrie George-Royals has been inducted into the Mississippi Nursing Association Hall of Fame based on lifelong achievement and service to the nursing profession and the nursing association, and recognizing her major contributions to nursing in the State of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Dr. George-Royals was a member of the nursing faculty at the University of Mississippi Medical Center from 1966 until her appointment as Dean of the School of Nursing at UMMC in 1974, a position she held successfully until her retirement in 1989; and

WHEREAS, during her tenure as the school's second dean, she and her faculty established a continuing education program in nursing, changed the master of nursing to a master of science in nursing, added new curriculum patterns that addressed the state's need for nurses with postgraduate degrees in specialty areas, secured funding for a director of research that began the program, and received approval for the doctoral program in nursing; and

WHEREAS, among those supporting her nomination to the Hall of Fame, Bobbie Ward, former professor of nursing at UMMC, said, "She always put the nursing needs of the state in the forefront of every decision she made."; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, she married for the first time at age 47 to the late Dr. Jimmy Royals, a retired physician, who had bought a boat a year earlier in preparation for the next stage of his life; and

WHEREAS, two months after her retirement, Dr. George-Royals sailed with her new husband to the Bahama Islands, the first of many voyages they took together on the trawler, Sunshine II, recording her adventures at sea in a book published in 1994 called, "One Buoy At a Time"; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize the civic contributions of a respected statewide leader in her profession, such as Dr. George-Royals:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Edrie George-Royals upon the occasion of her induction into the Mississippi Nursing Association Hall of Fame and extend best wishes for continued success in all of her future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Dr. George-Royals and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.